Friday, April 29, 2011
But Is It Really A Sin?
John Samson:
Sent me to reflecting on how often we use the word "sin" when we mean wrong. IN an age, now long past, when most people understood they needed God, such hyperbole was perhaps forgivable, but I don't think it is anymore. Sin has been trivialized to near meaninglessness. Good food is "sinful." I've heard the same word and same tone of voice applied to eating to much as I have to a one-night stand - is that really where we want to be?
Some might answer - "Yes!" - and they would do so for the sake of a theological argument out of Romans 3:23. But the theological fact that we all are in a sinful state does not remove from the necessity of existence they fact that ethically there are things far more problematic than others. We have allowed our theology to destroy our ethics.
In other words - we have made grace cheap while attempting to demonstrate its extreme value.
Now that is a sin.
If we are energized and excited by the gospel, it will show. I think the greatest sin of a preacher is to make the most interesting and exciting message in history sound boring!OK, Jim Rayburn, founder of Young Life used to say, "It's a sin to a bore a kid with the gospel." The idea is to energize the leadership, and energized leadership creates energized members - agreed. It is a grievous communication error to be boring - but a sin? - Really?
Sent me to reflecting on how often we use the word "sin" when we mean wrong. IN an age, now long past, when most people understood they needed God, such hyperbole was perhaps forgivable, but I don't think it is anymore. Sin has been trivialized to near meaninglessness. Good food is "sinful." I've heard the same word and same tone of voice applied to eating to much as I have to a one-night stand - is that really where we want to be?
Some might answer - "Yes!" - and they would do so for the sake of a theological argument out of Romans 3:23. But the theological fact that we all are in a sinful state does not remove from the necessity of existence they fact that ethically there are things far more problematic than others. We have allowed our theology to destroy our ethics.
In other words - we have made grace cheap while attempting to demonstrate its extreme value.
Now that is a sin.
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